Grounded
by JT-VS6
Summary: After tracking the Wraith , the crew begin evacuations of a planet set to be culled. While transporting the people, the team's Jumper gets damaged, forcing them to remain on the surface while the others on Atlantis have to fight the fleet. JT-VS, ep. 4.


Summary: After tracking the Wraith , the crew of Atlantis begin evacuations of a planet set to be culled. While transporting the people off the planet, the team's Jumper gets damaged, forcing them to remain on the planet's surface while the others on Atlantis have to fight the Wraith fleet.  
Rating: K+  
Characters: All  
Author's Notes: A big thank you to Lea, Cazz and Laura. :D :D

* * *

"I just can't shake the feeling that there is something going on," Keller said. She sat on the edge of Rodney's desk, frowning. "I asked Carson and he assured me that everything is fine, but still…"

"Jennifer," Rodney said firmly, pushing back slightly from his computer, "stop worrying."

She crossed her arms, not impressed. "This coming from the man who stayed up for three straight nights because you were convinced Zelenka was going to solve the problem with the star drive before you."

"That was completely different," he replied, holding up a finger. "As the lead--"

A sudden beeping from his tablet interrupted his thought.

"This is it!" he exclaimed, grabbing the tablet from his desk. He stood up. "Seriously, Jennifer, there is nothing to worry about," he said half-heartedly, his mind more focused on the data in his hands. Rodney dropped a kiss in her hair. "I've gotta go."

Rodney walked down the hallway, tapping on his tablet, as he made his way to the control room. He quickly made his way to the transporter. Once the short ride was finished, he walked up the stairs.

Chuck looked at him questioningly as he walked by without a comment.

"Mr. Woolsey is in a meeting with Colonel Sheppard and several other military personnel," Chuck said as Rodney was about to walk into Woolsey's office. "He asked not to be disturbed."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Well, then, do you want to be the one who explains to him why this information didn't get to him?"

Chuck held up his hands. "I thought I should pass along the message."

"Well," Rodney said with a huff, "I'll take the risk."

Without further interruption, Rodney walked into Woolsey's office. He suddenly wondering if walking in there was a good idea; Woolsey was shooting John a disapproving look.

"Colonel, I respectfully disagree. I understand we need to figure out where Todd has gone, but destroying the Wraith fleet is our main objective," Woolsey argued.

"Who's to say if we find Todd, we won't find out where the Wraith fleet is?" John shot back. He turned to Rodney, frowning as he shot a disapproving glance to Rodney. "We're kind of in the middle of something here, Rodney."

Rodney looked around and saw Sheppard, Lorne and several other military officers in the room. "Well, I might be able to help with this," he said, waving a finger between Woolsey and John. "It's about the Wraith fleet."

Woolsey waved him on.

"We think that the Wraith were planning on culling planets before they came to the Milky Way, right? Well, since we've entered into the Pegasus Galaxy, I've been trying to pinpoint exactly where they were going to stop. Which, when you think about the complexity of such a feet, it's quite--"

"The point, Dr. McKay?"

"Uh, anyway, I've finally figured out where they are going to have to stop. And," he said with a grin, "we can beat them to the planet."

"Excellent, Dr. McKay," Woolsey said with a slight smile.

John looked at his men. "We need everyone to get ready to get these people off the planet and then prepare for a space battle that will make Star Wars look boring."

* * *

Carson took a step back. Sixty vials sat on the table before him. That should be enough, he thought as the door to the infirmary opened. To his surprise, it was John.

"Colonel," he greeted warmly. "So you finally decided to come down and get a clean bill of health, eh?"

John hoisted himself on the examination table. "Woolsey won't let me go off-world until I do," he said, annoyed. "Why was Rodney able to work?"

"Do I have to remind you who his girlfriend is?" he asked cheekily. "Seriously though, Colonel, it would have been easy for you to stop by. It only takes but a minute to make sure you are free from any signs of the virus reemerging."

"Yeah, well, I was busy," John replied half-heartedly.

Carson smiled knowingly. "So, how have you been feeling? Any lasting effects of the virus?"

John shook his head. "Nope. I feel better than I should considering I was in a coma a little over a week ago."

"Aye, I know what you mean," Carson agreed.

John looked at the table. "Staying busy, huh?"

"Those?" Carson asked, glancing at the vials. "Yeah, but I think I'm finally finished."

"Are they for Kanaan?" asked John.

Carson nodded. "You know he has to be on a constant drug therapy or else the Wraith DNA Michael activated will start to mutate again. We would have had to done sooner, but with all the follow up after the virus, we haven't had much time," explained the doctor.

"We haven't had much time to dial out to Athos either," John said with a shrug.

"Aye, that's true," Carson said as he ran the scanner over John. "Well, everything looks good here," he replied, looking at the readout. "I'd say you're clear to go off-world."

"Great," John said sincerely. "Thanks, Doc."

* * *

It was ironic, John thought as he pulled the Jumper into the atmosphere, that he brought up Star Wars earlier, because he swore he was flying to Tatooine.

"Remind me not to by my vacation home here," John muttered as he flew over the barren desert.

"It does leave much to be desired," Teyla agreed.

John leaned back in his chair as the jumper started to land. "Let's just hope we can get these people off this planet quickly." He looked at Rodney who was applying sunscreen to his face. "I don't think Rodney can take the heat."

Rodney frowned. "Oh yes, getting severely sunburned is on my plans for today." He held out the bottle of sunscreen. Everyone shook their head. "Fine, don't come begging for aloe vera when your face starts to burn."

John rolled his eyes as he looked at the village ahead of them. The plan was simple: convince the people to temporarily evacuate their planet, destroy the Wraith fleet and return the people back to their home. He only hoped he could convince the people to trust them; he didn't want to force the people to leave if they didn't want to.

The jumper set on the ground. John released the rear hatch and the found of them filed out of the jumper. They watched as the other dozen jumpers landed. When Lorne walked out of his, John led his team to him. "The four of us will go to the village. We don't need to startle the people," John said.

Lorne nodded. "We'll be waiting."

John, Teyla, Ronon and Rodney started walking towards the village. Even from this distance, John knew that this town was different from most planets they had seen in the Pegasus Galaxy. Tall buildings stood proudly while large clay houses circled the city.

Dozens of people were walking through the town's center, John noticed. When they entered the outskirts of the village, the people watched them looked at them closely.

Teyla looked around the city. "The Wraith have not culled this planet in a long time," she said knowingly. "They have been allowed to develop these structures without fear of retribution."

"The Wraith knew they would be unprepared," Ronon said.

Before they got halfway through the village, an older man, perhaps in his sixties, approached them. "Do you come in serenity?" he asked.

John nodded. "Yeah, we're here to help." He looked around, noticing most of the village was watching the exchange between them. "Maybe we could go some place a bit more private."

The man studied them for a second. "Come, the town center is this way."

John was right not to bring all of the others with him. Pairs of eyes followed them as they walked the few hundred yards to the large building in the center of town.

"They don't trust us," Ronon said to John.

"Yeah, I kinda got that feeling," John responded.

"You must forgive us," the older man said, overhearing the two of them, "the last time we had unexpected visitors, it was from a fringe Genii group." He paused for a second. "It was not a pleasant exchange."

He stood in front of the doorway. "I am Mishar, this city's lead councilman," he said.

"John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, Rodney McKay and Ronon Dex," John replied, introducing his team.

Mishar's eyes narrowed, looking at Teyla. "Was your father Torren of Athos?"

She nodded. "Yes, he was."

Mishar smiled. "He was a trustworthy man. An honest trader who always treated his patrons fairly."

Teyla looked at him apologetically, not recognizing him. "I am sorry, but I did not know he had ever traveled to this planet before," she replied.

Mishar shook his head. "He did not. We often journey to other planets to trade our goods; it was on Brigdor that I met your father." He looked at her. "It was probably before you were born. He never mentioned having a daughter."

John cleared his throat. As nice as it was to go down memory lane, he knew the Wraith were approaching the planet soon.

"Your planet is in danger," he said, cutting to the point.

"What do you mean?" Mishar asked, concerned.

"The Wraith are on a direct course to your planet," Rodney replied. "We picked up some intel showing that they intend on stopping here. If I were you, I'd get off this planet as soon as possible."

Mishar shook his head. "The Wraith have not come here for nearly three centuries. Our planet is too far on the edge of the galaxy," he argued.

"Yeah, well, they're getting ready for a road trip," John muttered.

"The information we have is sound," Teyla assured them. "We want to take you and your people to the City of the Ancestors. There you will be protected until the ships have been destroyed."

"The City of the Ancestors?" he asked, amazed. "It is here?"

"Yeah, floating above your planet," John answered. "But we need to get your people off the planet. The Wraith will be here in less than two hours."

"It will be difficult convincing them to leave," Mishar said. "Many of them believe that we are safe from the Wraith since it has been so long since they have come to our world."

"You need to convince them" Ronon said simply. "Or they'll get culled."

Silence filled the room for several seconds before Mishar finally spoke. "I will talk with the council." He looked at Sheppard. "How long do we have?"

"Not much time," he said, shaking his head.

"Very well," Mishar said. "Please, stay here. I will return shortly."

******************

Radek was sitting in the control room, working on trying to increase the shields' power supply when the proximity alert started chirping. He rolled his chair over to Chuck's station. "What is it?' he asked.

Chuck shook his head. "I'm not sure. Some kind of probe and it's coming in fast."

Overhearing the exchange, Woolsey walked over to the station. "I would say it's safe to say it's from the Wraith ship."

Zelenka nodded, typing in a few calculations. "It will be here within the next hour."

Woolsey drew in a long breath. "Understood." He tapped his earpiece. "Colonel, we need to speed up the evacuation. The Wraith have sent out some kind of probe and it's heading for the planet."

"We're doing our best," came Sheppard's terse reply. "How long do we have before it gets here?"

"An hour, probably less," answered Woolsey.

Sheppard sighed. "All right. We'll do what we can to get them to hurry up. Sheppard out."

Woolsey looked at Zelenka. "I want to know what that thing is before it gets here. We need to be ready."

Zelenka nodded. "I'll try."

****************

John turned to his team. "We've got a problem. The Wraith are sending some kind of probe or something to the planet. I'm guessing that they know we're here." He looked out the window and saw Mishar talking to the large group of people. "It's gonna be here in an hour."

The three of them exchanged a look. They knew even with all of the jumpers flying, getting nearly several hundred people off the planet in that timeframe would be difficult.

"I will speak with him," Teyla offered. "Perhaps the fact he knew my father will help them to be more trusting."

John shrugged, nodding towards the group where Mishar was heading back to the building. "I think they already made their decision."

Mishar entered the room. "They have agreed to go. On one condition."

John knew something would come along to complicate things. But, still, they had little time to argue. "Ok, what is it?"

"The men of our village will go up there and make sure the City of the Ancestors is safe. Once we have heard back, our women and children can go," said Mishar.

"Sounds fair enough," John said, walking to the door.

"That isn't all." Mishar paused. "The four of you are to remain here with me until the planet has been evacuated." He lowered his voice. "Many of the people have heard conflicting stories about you and your people. I have volunteered to stay here, a symbol of trust to you."

"So we're prisoners," Ronon replied.

Mishar frowned. "No. You are free to leave if you want. But my people will not go unless you do what we request."

John looked at his team who looked slightly uncomfortable, especially Ronon. He understood the town's concern, but with one less Jumper to transport people, it would take that much longer to get the people to Atlantis. Still, he wouldn't let the Wraith cull the planet because of their demands either.

"All right," John agreed. "Get your people ready."

Mishar nodded and walked away.

John tapped his earpiece. "Lorne, we've got people heading to your position. Load up the Jumpers and get them back to Atlantis as quick as you can. We've got company."

"I know. Woolsey contacted me already, sir."

John turned to his team. "Hope you like the heat."

Rodney smiled smugly. "I bet you guys wish you had put on sunscreen now."

Five minutes later, the team was leading the large group of people to the Jumpers. Rodney figured two trips, one for the men and the other for the remaining people, would be efficient. The men were quickly loaded into the Jumpers.

John and the others watched them as they flew off. He hoped the men would give their approval so they could finally get off the planet; he was sick of the heat.

* * *

Jennifer walked down the hall, jogging to catch up to Woolsey who was making his way to the Jumper Bay. "Sir, do you need help with the refugees?" she asked.

He stopped as she caught up with him. "Slow day in the infirmary?"

Jennifer shrugged. "Carson is there for now. I thought I would see if I could help out," she answered.

He studied her for a second, trying to determine her motive for offering to assist with the refugees. He decided there was no point to question her reasons. Woolsey nodded. "Sure, your assistance would be appreciated. With the large number of people coming aboard, we have cleared out a section of the west pier. There should be enough room for them there."

Together they made their way to the Jumper Bay. As they walked inside, the first group of Jumpers was starting to land. Woolsey stood in the middle of the group, wanting to greet the people as they disembarked.

Lorne and his group stepped out of the Jumper first. A young, boyish-looking man walked closely behind Lorne.

"Is this is? The City of the Ancestors?" he asked.

Woolsey nodded. "It is. I am Richard Woolsey. This is Jennifer Keller, the Chief Medical Officer," he introduced.

"I am Kihaln," the young man responded. He looked around. "Where are we staying?" he asked tersely.

Evan exchanged a glance with Woolsey.

"We have a section for you and your people. Please, follow me," Woolsey answered, leading them down the corridor.

Lorne and his team stayed behind, continuing to guide the people out of the jumpers.

It was odd for Woolsey to see so many people on Atlantis. The city was certainly large enough to accommodate thousands of people, yet, their expedition only had slightly over 200 members.

Kihaln followed Woolsey, looking around the corridors with amazement. "This place is remarkable," he commented.

Woolsey nodded. "Yes, it is."

Kihaln turned to Woolsey. "Will this place truly protect us from the Wraith?" he asked.

Woolsey noted that the people within hearing distance all fell silent. "We have the fire power to destroy Hive ships. This is the safest place for you and your people," he assured them.

Woolsey turned a corner, leading them to a large room, leading out to a balcony. "This will be where you will stay."

Kihaln turned and faced Woolsey. "Why are you doing this? We have heard rumors about your people; that you have caused more harm than good. Some even said that you had abandoned this galaxy to return to your home world."

Woolsey shifted his weight, slight uncomfortable. "We did leave for our galaxy, but only to neutralize the Wraith threat. Six months ago, we entered into an alliance with the planets of this galaxy. In that, we said we would take a more active role in defending the galaxy. So, here we are."

Kihaln was silent for a few seconds before nodding to his men. "We will stay here. But when the Wraith are destroyed, we want to return to our home."

Woolsey nodded. "Of course." He pulled out a radio. "You can use this device to speak with Mishar without having to return to the surface."

Kihlan pushed the button. "Mishar, are you there?"

"Greetings, Kihlan," Mishar returned. "How did your survey of the City go?"

"Good. The others should come," Kihlan reported.

"Excellent, we will be waiting," Mishar said.

Relieved there were no issues, Woolsey tapped his earpiece. "Major, you are clear to go to the planet and retrieve the others."

"Good," came Lorne's reply. "Because we're running out of time. Zelenka says the probe is going to be here in twenty minutes."

******************

John stood next to the Jumper waiting for the others to return to the planet's surface.

"Do you think we will have enough time to evacuate?" Teyla asked.

"Sure," he said, trying to be nonchalant.

Teyla frowned slightly. "John," she said warningly. "I know you are not that optimistic."

He turned serious. "We should have enough time if everyone is ready to go." Soon, John watched as the Jumpers were landing. "We need to hurry," John said to Mishar.

The leader nodded as the remaining Jumpers landed. John and the other Jumper pilots quickly directed the people onto the Jumpers; John was surprised, the evacuation was going quite smoothly. Within ten minutes, the most of the people had been loaded into the ships.

As the first group of Jumpers left, John turned to Mishar. "Ready?"

Mishar hesitated for a moment. "Colonel, I want to go back to the village. To make sure no one has remained there. Please."

"We don't have time! That probe is going to be here in two minutes," Rodney replied.

"I must make certain no one is here. I will not leave without checking," Mishar threatened.

Ronon looked at him, scowling.

Teyla stepped to him. "Mishar, there is no one left in the village. We have already searched through the buildings when the Jumpers left the planet the first time," insisted Teyla.

"Tell me," he said, unimpressed, "if you were in my position, would you be so quick to leave the planet's surface?"

"No one is here," Ronon shot back. "You're wasting time."

Rodney looked at his tablet. "We need to go now," he said urgently. "The probe is going to enter the atmosphere in less than a minute."

"Mishar," Teyla replied calmly. "Your people need you. On Atlantis."

Several tense moments passed before Mishar finally nodded. "I will go, but if there is anyone left…if anything should happen to them…"

"Nothing will happen to them if I get back to Atlantis," John replied tersely.

As they entered in the Jumper, John's comm channel opened. "Colonel Sheppard," Zelenka said through the radio. "You need to leave now. The probe is approaching the planet!"

"Can't we just shoot it down with a drone?" he asked as he took his seat.

"We have attempted to do so, but it has quite an impressive shield protecting it," Zelenka replied.

"Great," John muttered.

John started taking off as Teyla took the seat next to him. "Hang on," John said as the Jumper quickly took off.

They were several hundred feet in the air when John saw the probe crashing through the atmosphere.

"We made it," Teyla said, relieved.

Suddenly, the Jumper's power was cut off. Having lost its engines, the ship was hurling back to the planet's surface. John tried to get control of the Jumper, but there was nothing he could do to maneuver the craft.

"Do something, Sheppard!" Rodney yelled.

"I'm try--"

The crash cut off John's response.

The impact wasn't as bad as John thought it would be, but it was severe enough to throw him across the jumper cabin, causing him to land gracelessly in Teyla's lap.

"Sorry," he awkwardly muttered. He pulled himself up and looked around the cabin. "Everyone ok?"

The five of them nodded.

"What happened?" Ronon asked Rodney.

"We crash landed," Rodney sarcastically answered, rubbing his shoulder. "And don't ask me why because I don't know."

If the situation wasn't so serious, John would have teased him. "Think it had to do with that probe?" he asked.

"Probably," Rodney replied.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Woolsey. Do you hear me?"

John tapped his earpiece. "Yeah. What the hell happened? The Jumper has lost all power."

"Dr. Zelenka believes that the probe emitted some kind of energy pulse used to disrupt all Ancient technology," Woolsey explained.

Instantly, John was on alert. "Was Atlantis affected?"

"No, neither were the other Jumpers. It appears it has a limited range." He paused. "We were lucky that only your Jumper was affected. If the probe had reached the planet two minutes earlier…"

He didn't finish his sentence; he didn't need to. John knew that disabled Jumpers would have been target practice for the Hive ship. "How long until the Hive Ship gets here?"

"About an hour. Dr. Zelenka is working on a solution to get the Jumper working. I'll have Dr. Beckett man the Chair, just in case we can't find an answer in time," Woolsey said.

John frowned. It wasn't the ideal solution, but it was the best solution for the time being. "Understood." He turned to those in the Jumper. "Well, get comfy because I have a feeling we're going to be here for a while."

* * *

Lorne and several of the other Jumper pilots led the people down the hallways to where the others were waiting for them. He was aware of what happened to Colonel Sheppard and his team and knew he needed to get ready to attack the Hive Ship, if necessary.

"Here you go," he said to the group of people.

The women and children sought out their friends and families.

At least, Lorne thought, this part of the mission went smoothly. He turned around and nodded to one of the officers. "If anything comes up, contact Woolsey."

"Aye, sir."

Before he could walk away, one of the men, Kihlan, called to him. "Where is Mishar?" he yelled.

Lorne's face scrunched up slightly. He did not want to be the one to deliver the news of what happened to their leader. "The ship he was on was damaged on the way to Atlantis. We are doing everything in our power to get it back here."

Kihlan huffed. "You have kidnapped our leader!" he said loudly, causing some of the people to look at Lorne.

"No," Lorne replied firmly. "Our people are down there too. The Wraith deployed some kind of weapon and they are trying to get back here." He looked at Kihlan. "Let's not have any problems, ok?"

Kihlan stared at him for several seconds. "Why should we trust you?"

"Because, you have no other choice," Lorne said, turning around and walking away.

Keller, who had been across the room, walked up to Lorne. "Rodney is still down there?"

Lorne nodded. "Zelenka is trying to figure out what happened, but so far no luck. But you know McKay, if there is a way to save his ass, he'll figure out a way to do it."

* * *

"I am so sorry," Mishar said. "It's all my fault."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Of course it is! If you just would have--"

"Rodney," Teyla interrupted. She turned to Mishar. "We know that you were looking for your people."

"So, now what?" Ronon asked.

John looked at Rodney, who was trying, unsuccessfully, to rig up an interface to power up the Jumper through his tablet.

"Don't look at me. This is like trying to power a car with a double A battery," Rodney complained.

John sat in front of his useless controls when he thought of an idea. "What if this is like the device on M7G-677? Couldn't we deactivate it and then get out of here?"

Rodney nodded slowly, considering the possibility. "Yeah, it should work. It's gonna take some time though. Wraith technology isn't the easiest code to translate."

"I will go with you," Teyla offered.

John did not like the idea of sending the two of them out there, especially knowing that the Wraith, and their darts, were on their way. Still, he couldn't leave the Jumper for the Wraith to find either.

He nodded. "All right, you two go. Ronon and I will stay here and protect the Jumper. You get that device turned off and we'll pick you guys up." He walked to Rodney. "Are you going to be able to track where that thing landed?"

Rodney nodded. "I should be able to detect the energy signature."

"How are you gonna get out?" Ronon asked. "The controls aren't working."

"There is a manual override," Rodney answered. "Behind that panel over there," he said pointing to the small rectangle next to the door.

John walked across the cabin and removed the cover. He reached inside and pulled the lever, causing the door to release. With a push, he opened the rear hatch.

"It looks like it landed about four kilometers away, over there," Rodney said, pointing to the north.

Teyla grabbed her P-90 and a pack from the back and handed Rodney his equipment. "We should hurry."

John walked to the exit of the cabin as the two of them walked out of the Jumper. "Be careful," he said sincerely.

Teyla turned back and nodded. "Do not worry, John. We will be safe."

He watched them for a few seconds before turning back inside the Jumper. All they could do was wait.

**************

Jennifer was overwhelmed.

Inside the infirmary, she was comfortable; she knew how to perform numerous medical procedures, trusted her staff to follow her requests and enjoyed helping heal people.

Inside the segregated wing of Atlantis, Jennifer found herself with very little help in a hostile environment. They people grew more restless every minute that passed without the return of Mishar. Kihlan was the most responsible for the people's worry.

For the fifth time in as many minutes, the irate man walked up to Jennifer. "Have you heard anything from the others?"

Jennifer shook her head. "I told you, I will tell you when I hear anything. They are doing everything to get back here," she assured them.

She frowned as she thought of Rodney in the blistering heat of the planet below. She knew he was uninjured, thankfully, but Jennifer was aware that Rodney did not do well in such brutal conditions. She hoped he had put on sunscreen before he left.

"We are growing impatient," Kihlan warned.

"I understand," she replied. She looked across the room and to her surprise, Kanaan was walking into the room with Torren. "Excuse me," she mumbled to Kihlan as she walked to the Athosian.

Kanaan, for his part, was trying to comfort Torren. He had been distancing himself from the child since he had made the decision to go back to New Athos. While he would miss his son, he knew that Teyla would be able to better protect him on Atlantis.

"Shhh," he whispered to his son.

Torren reached around and grabbed Kanaan's shirt, chewing on it as Jennifer walked up to him. "Kanaan, what are you doing here?" she asked.

Outside of Teyla, Jennifer was the only person on base who Kanaan was truly comfortable around. It was she who helped him with his recovery from the experiments Michael had done to him; it was she who would volunteer to help watch Torren if he and Teyla could not; it was she who had not treated him like an outsider though he was.

"I have come to see if there was any word on Teyla," he said. "I tried to contact Mr. Woolsey, but he was too busy to speak with me."

Before she could respond, Woolsey spoke over the City-wide channel. "Attention, the Wraith Hive ships have reached the planet. All personal, please report to your stations immediately."

"I haven't heard anything," Jennifer said softly. She smiled sympathetically. "I need to get back to the infirmary." She looked around the anxious group and lowered her voice. "I think you should probably take Torren out of here. They are getting restless."

Kanaan nodded as he shifted Torren's weight as he eyed the crowd. "Yes, I believe you are correct."

Jennifer started making her way to the entrance of the room when Kihlan cut her off. "Where are you going?" he demanded.

"I need to get to the infirmary in case there are any injuries," Jennifer explained. She tried to take a step, but Kihlan blocked her way. "I need to go."

"No," he said forcibly. "You don't."

From across the room, Lorne noticed the encounter and started walking up to the four of them.

"You need to let her go."

Jennifer was surprised at Kanaan's demand. He was usually seen, but never heard.

Kihlan backed off slightly as he took in Kanaan's appearance. "Why should I? They have captured our leader, trapped us in the City of the Ancestors." He turned to the others in the room. "They will deliver us to the Wraith."

"Enough!" Kanaan shouted, startling Torren. "The Lantians are sincere in their desire to help. I have seen them willing to sacrifice themselves to help others. Even now, my--the mother of my son and those that she works with are stranded on your planet because they wanted to rescue your planet from a Wraith culling."

He took a step towards Kihlan. "You will be safe here, but you must trust these people. They could have left you to perish, but that is not their way."

A woman came up to Kihlan, placing her hand gently on his shoulder. "They will return with Mishar," she said softly. "Why would they go to all this trouble if they weren't going to do so?"

Kihlan let out a long breath as he moved out of Jennifer's way.

"Thank you," she said to Kanaan as she left the room.

"You really trust these people?" Kihlan asked.

Kanaan nodded. "I do. They have already saved my life once before."

"Let's hope they can do the same for Mishar," Kihlan said before turning around and walking back to his people.

* * *

"I miss Canada."

"What?" Teyla asked as she shielded her eyes from the sun's rays.

"Canada, it's where I'm from. The weather might have been freezing, but at least I didn't have to worry about first degree burns from going outside," Rodney muttered.

Teyla understood his discomfort. The heat from the sun was getting worse; she wondered how long the days on the planet lasted. "How much longer until we get to the device?" she asked.

"About a half of kilometer," Rodney said after looking at his tablet.

They continued walking for several minutes before they heard John's voice over the comm. channel. "Woolsey just contacted us. The Wraith are here," he said simply.

"They're here already? I thought Radek said we had an hour!" Rodney complained.

"Rodney, it's been fifty minutes. Maybe if you bothered to look at your watch--," John responded.

"We are almost there," Teyla cut in, breaking up the fight.

"Hurry up," John said. "We're sitting ducks."

The comm channel went dead and the two of them sprinted over the soft sand. Behind Teyla, Rodney was panting heavily. She knew that if they weren't careful, both of them would suffer heat stroke.

"You can do it," she encouraged him. "We do not have much further to go."

* * *

Carson sat in the Control Chair, focusing his concentration on controlling the drones to hit their targets. The Wraith has entered firing range nearly a minute ago. Carson had done his best firing at the Hive Ship, but the progress was slow.

The Hive ship fired its large enemy weapon. Lorne did his best to move Atlantis out of the way, but the City still took the brunt of the hit.

"Oh crap," he muttered.

He turned his focus to firing at the dozens of darts that were closing in on the jumpers. He fired a cluster of drones at the enemy fighters. The drones hit their targets, exploding several of the darts.

"That's better," Carson said.

He turned his focus back to the Hive ship, oscillating between firing drones and making evasive maneuvers, trying to keep Atlantis safe.

****************

John looked through the front window as several darts entered the atmosphere. "Think they're looking for us?" he asked sarcastically.

Ronon smirked. "It's kind of hard to miss the Jumper."

They watched as the Darts flew several hundred yards away, their transport beam depositing Wraith on the other side of the large sand dune.

John turned to Mishar. "Stay here and do not come out. You will be safe here," John instructed.

Ronon released the latch and pushed the rear hatch open. As the two men stepped out, the heat covered them like blankets. They walked over the sandy desert and climbed the large sand dune. As they got to the top, they saw a dozen Wraith walking together towards the Jumper.

"Quite the welcome party," John said, aiming at the group with his P-90.

Ronon nodded towards where Rodney and Teyla were; several Wraith darts were heading their way. He tapped his earpiece. "Teyla, you've got Wraith coming your way."

"Understood, we are at the device now. Rodney is attempting to interface with it now," Teyla replied.

"Good," John said, cutting off the channel. He turned to Ronon and nodded.

Together, they fired at the group of Wraith that were approaching the top of the hill. Three Wraiths fell, but the others kept walking up the sand dune, firing their weapons.

John ran from Ronon, giving the Wraith two targets instead of one. He shot another Wraith in the chest as Ronon took out two more. The sand next to John exploded as the Wraith fired a little too close for John's comfort.

"Give up," one of the Wraiths hissed. "We will destroy your ship and we will feed on you."

"Like hell you will," John said as he fired his weapon again.

*******************

Teyla looked at Rodney, worried. "Can we not just shoot it? That would surely disrupt the signal, would it not?" she asked.

He frowned disapprovingly. "You've been spending too much time with Ronon." He tapped his tablet. "I'm trying to piggyback off the signal and convert to affect the Wraith devices. If I can't, then you can go Rambo on it, k?"

Teyla turned her gaze to the skies where she saw three darts quickly approaching their position. "You need to hurry, Rodney," she said, her eyes not leaving the ships.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Rodney said irritably.

Teyla knew the darts would be there in less than twenty seconds based on their speed. She aimed her P-90, ready to take down any dart she could. As the whine of their engines came close, Teyla fired her gun, hitting the target perfectly.

The front dart shot at Teyla, nearly shooting her. "Rodney!" she yelled.

"I'm almost done!" he shouted back.

She continued firing at the Dart. Finally, smoke began to come out of the backside of the ship. The other two Darts swung around the damaged ship, not able to shoot at the two of them on the ground.

"That should do it," he said, setting the tablet next to the device and picking up his gun. He ran to Teyla's side. "It's going to take a minute to upload the updated protocols, but it should work."

Teyla nodded. "We need to separate," she said. "They are coming back around." She ran on the other side of the device while Rodney remained at his position.

Rodney looked at his watch, checking the countdown. "Thirty seconds," he called to her.

"They will be back before the device is ready," she replied. "We need to concentrate our fire on the first dart that approaches."

Rodney nodded, aiming his gun at the approaching ship. Teyla mirrored his movements and began to fire as soon as the Dart got within range. The two of them continued firing as the Dart powered up its culling beam.

Teyla fired at the weapon bay, disabling the beam.

The Dart switched weapons and started to shoot at the two of them. Rodney tried to dodge out of the way, but he was too late.

He was hit.

"Rodney!" Teyla yelled. She shot some suppressive fire at the Dart as she ran to Rodney's side. "Rodney!"

He turned slightly, revealing a large burn mark on his arm. "I hate going off world," he muttered before blacking out.

The timer beeped on his watch. To Teyla's surprise, both of the Darts suddenly fell out of the sky, crashing into the planet's surface. The fireballs that rose from the wreckage revealed that neither Wraith pilot could have survived.

She tapped her earpiece. "John, the device has been deactivated. Rodney figured out a way to reverse the signal," she explained.

"That would explain why the Wraith aren't shooting at us anymore," John replied. "We'll be right there."

She frowned, looking at her fallen friend. "Hurry, John, Rodney has been injured."

"We'll be there are soon as we can."

Less than a minute later, Teyla saw the Jumper approaching. "Rodney," she said, "we need to go. Can you walk?"

He was unable to respond.

As the rear hatch opened, she stood up. "Ronon, he has lost consciousness. Could you get him aboard the Jumper?"

Ronon nodded as he walked passed her and picked up the still form of Rodney. John rushed out to Teyla. "What happened?"

"One of the darts shot at him," Teyla said. She looked at the device. "We should take this along. We may be able to use it in the fight."

John nodded as he picked it up. "Come on," he said walking with her inside the cabin. "Let's get off this planet."

* * *

Woolsey looked at Amelia. "What's the status of the Wraith ships?" he asked.

"Dr. Beckett has managed to disable two of the three ships. The third ship's shields have collapsed, but he is having trouble getting the drones through the waves of Darts they are releasing. They aren't going down without a fight," Amelia replied.

Another tremor shook through the whole city.

"Shields are down to twenty percent," reported Chuck. "We've got several casualties reported." He looked at his monitors. "We're only going to be able to take a couple of more hits like that before the City suffers serious damage."

Woolsey turned to Zelenka. "Can you get any more power to the shields?"

Radek shrugged. "I'm attempting to do so, but I don't want to pull any more power away from life support. If our shields collapse, the life support system is the only thing preventing us from being crushed by the vacuum of space."

"Jumper One to Atlantis."

Woolsey let out a long breath, grateful to hear Sheppard's voice. "This is Atlantis. Go ahead."

"Rodney managed to rewrite the protocols on the Wraith device and we have power. We'll be back to Atlantis in three minutes," John reported.

"Dr. Beckett could use some help getting rid of the Darts out there," Woolsey replied. "I need you to help."

There was a long pause. Woolsey wondered if the device wasn't reactivated. Finally, John's voice came through the channel. "Understood. Sheppard out."

* * *

John turned back to Teyla who was next to Rodney. "How's he doing?" he asked, concerned.

"Terrible," Rodney muttered.

Despite his pain, John couldn't help but to be relieved at the fact that Rodney had regained consciousness. "We'll be back on Atlantis before you know it," John said.

Mishar finished wrapping his arm and stood back, examining the bandage. "The medicine you provide should keep the scarring down. The bandage will hold until we return to the City of the Ancestors."

Teyla nodded her thanks as she looked at Rodney. When they had entered the cabin Mishar had insisted on taking care of Rodney since it was his fault they were trapped on the planet.

"Is the device still working?" John asked.

"We'll find out soon enough," Ronon replied.

John piloted the Jumper through the atmosphere entering into space. Debris from destroyed Wraith vessels littered the area. John quickly steered the Jumper away from the wreckage and made a straight shot for the darts that were protecting the remaining ships.

As the Jumper approached the Darts, they began spinning out of control, losing power. John smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."

Swiftly, he weaved in and out of the dense clustering of Darts, cutting off their power. As he swung back towards Atlantis, he saw a large bunch of drones fire from the City. He turned the Jumper slightly and watched the drones hit their mark.

Another group of drones were fired and the Hive ship silently blew up.

"Well, I guess that takes care of the Wraith," John said.

He turned back and looked at Rodney who was wincing in pain. "Yeah, well, now it's time to take care of me," Rodney replied irritably.

* * *

"Rodney," Jennifer said, smiling, "I've got some visitors eager to see you."

John, Teyla, Torren and Ronon were standing behind her.

Rodney was less than impressed. "I've been in here for over twenty-four hours and this is the first time you guys managed to squeeze in a visit?" He scowled.

"Hey!" John protested. "We had to make sure there were no Wraith on the planet, and then we had to transport all of the people back to the surface." He lowered his voice. "Besides, she wouldn't let us in," he said, nodding towards Keller.

"That's right," she said, not impressed. "My patient's well-being is my top priority."

"Especially McKay," Ronon muttered.

"Ronon," Teyla warned, elbowing him slightly in the ribs.

"Woolsey is itching to find a planet to land Atlantis on," John said, changing the subject. "Radek has some ideas--"

"He's letting Zelenka decide?" Rodney asked in disbelief.

"He is joking," Teyla reassured him.

"I was just trying to give him an incentive to get better sooner," John defended with a shrug.

"Well," Jennifer cut in, "he'll be released in a couple of days. But, you're going to have to be easy on that arm for a couple of weeks. You're lucky the muscle wasn't ripped off the bone. Now," she said to Rodney, "you need to rest."

The four of them started to leave before John turned around. "Don't take too long getting better, Rodney. I heard Zelenka has already made headway on converting the energy signatures from the device into some kind of handheld weapon," John said with a grin.

"Jennifer…" Rodney whined.

"No, now rest!"

John smiled at the rest of his team. "I bet you he's out of here in three hours," he teased.

"I give it two," Ronon replied as they walked out of the infirmary.


End file.
